Davey's Destiny - Part Eight

[Rowan]

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? Eight ?

?You must have had a good weekend.?

I finished lacing up my cleats before grinning up at Brad. ?How?d you know??

He spun the combination on his locker. ?You?ve been lighter all day. I don?t think you smiled at all last week. Everything cool with your family??

<i> You won?t hate me for leaving? </i>

Still sitting on the bench, I rested my chin on top of my knee. ?No, but getting there. I think.?

?Whatever you?re doing, keep it up.? He swung open his locker door, tilted his head to the side.

I straightened. ?What?s up??

?Got a gift.?

Curious, I stood and went to see. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter when I saw what was hanging inside. ?That?s a mighty big fish, Brad.?

He tried to shoot me a serious look, but his lips kept twitching. ?It even came with a card.? He reached in and plucked it from the fish?s mouth. ?Stay away from our cheerleaders, or else.?

?Or else?? I snorted. ?That?s their big threat??

?I know.? He stared down at the card. ?I would have written, ?stay away from our cheerleaders, or you?ll be sleeping with this guy?s friends.? Something like that.?

Carl Fitch walked up to us. ?Hey guys, what?s the deal? You know how coach gets when we don?t hit the field on time.?

I pointed at Brad?s locker.

He tilted his head to the side just like Brad had. ?That?s a fish.?

?You?re late,? said Brad. ?We?ve covered that part already.?

?What?s a fish doing in your locker??

I plucked the card out of Brad?s hand and gave it to Carl. ?Football team?s pissed that Brad?s dating Cara.?

?So they hung a fish in plain view? Don?t they know you?re supposed cut it up and <i> hide </i> the pieces so you can?t find the source of the stink??

Jack Anderson leaned over Brad?s shoulder and touched the inside of the locker. ?I would have used that fish to rub down all the walls. The oil is damn near impossible to clean off metal. You never get it all the first time, and some of it would have gotten into your books as a bonus.?

Mikey Hammond?the only Freshman to make our team?bounced up to us. ?Hey, whose fish??

?Brad?s,? we said in unison.

?Oh,? he said, wedging himself closer. ?That?s a nice one. Chilean Sea Bass?those things are pricey. You shouldn?t keep that stored in your locker, Brad.? He sniffed the fish. ?Although it?s still pretty fresh.?

I snickered. ?Sounds like they went all out for you, Brad.?

He raised an eyebrow. ?Who shells out that kind of dough for a prank? And who uses a <i> fresh </i> fish??

?Billy Chase is the captain this year, right?? Jack poked at the fish, making it swing. ?His family is loaded. Maybe he doesn?t know how to save a buck.?

Billy Chase. I?d been tangling with him since elementary school. It was always fun to take him down.

?Why is Billy trying to punk you, Brad?? asked Mikey.

?Because I?m dating Cara Richards.?

?Makes sense they?d retaliate,? said Carl. ?She?s the hottest girl on the squad. Tradition dictates that she date the quarterback.?

?Fuck tradition,? said Brad, his voice soft. ?I think I might love her.?

The guys chuckled.

The gears in my head spun.

Brad cast a sidelong glance at me. ?Despite the lack of imagination present in such a lame prank, we <i> are </i> getting back at them??

I bit on my thumbnail. Maybe if we?

?I know that look.? Brad clapped me on the shoulder. ?You?ve got an idea.?

A slow smile curved my mouth and I straightened. ?Okay, we can?t let this slide. But what I?ve got in mind could easily get all of us suspended if we get caught. I know a lot of you are still waiting on scholarship offers, and I would never ask you to jeopardize your futures. No shame in backing out now.?

No one moved. In fact, they looked downright eager.

My team, the undercover delinquents.

I clapped my hands together. ?Alright, then. After school, we start step one. Mikey, your dad owns a seafood restaurant, right??

He grinned, nodded.

?Okay, baseball practice now. Football mischief later.?

*****

I threw open the front door of my house and ran inside.

Davey slammed into me, and I slammed into the floor.

?Gotcha Justin!?

Oh, we were still playing this game.

I gasped for air, and Davey lifted his hard chest off mine. When I could breathe again, I pushed on his shoulders. ?Let me up, Davey.?

He grinned. ?Play with me.?

I gave him a token struggle. ?You win.?

His smile faded. ?You?re not trying.?

Pushing past the aches in my body, I shoved and bucked against him. His solid body didn?t give me much opportunity to try and gain any kind of leverage. He held himself immobile on top of me, giggling as he pinned my arms over my head.

Only when I was out of breath again was he satisfied. ?That?s a good try, Justin.? He hopped up, easily brought me up with him. ?It?s more fun when you really try.?

He patted my arm, knocking me to the side a step.

?Thanks,? I said, forcing myself not to rub at the new bruise.

?Ready to eat dinner now??

Oh, crap! ?Sorry, Davey.? I ran down the hall. ?Got something to do.?

He zipped in front of me, blocked my path. ?I thought we were going to eat together.?

I paused. ?You didn?t have dinner with Mom and Dad? You shouldn?t skip when you?re always hungry.?

?I ate with them. I told Mom to make extra so I could eat with you, too.?

With that big body, he must need constant fuel. ?Well, go ahead and have your second dinner. Brad is waiting outside in the car for me, and we?ll probably grab something later.?

He spread his arms wide when I tried to sidestep him. ?What are you doing? Where are you going??

I ruffled his hair. ?Big kid stuff.?

His face hardened. ?I?m a big kid.?

Realizing that trying to rush past him had hurt his feelings, I forced myself to slow down. ?Older kid stuff.?

He crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps swell frighteningly large. ?Tell me.?

My breathing shallowed, but I kept my tone light. ?I?m supposed to be a good influence on you. I wouldn?t be doing my job as your big brother if I told you what I was about to do.?

Anger gave way to concern. ?It?s not something dangerous, is it? If it?s something dangerous, you have to take me with you, Justin!?

I smiled, cupped his face with my hand. ?It?s nothing for you worry about.?

He covered my hand with his. ?Is it against the law??

?Nope.? I stopped short. ?At least, I don?t think so.?

?When will you be back??

?Before you go to bed tonight.?

Davey hesitated, then stepped aside.

Brad honked his horn just as I threw open a storage closet. I dug around, grabbed two big coolers, and ran for the door.

<i> ?Justin!? </i>

The urgency in Davey?s tone made me whip around.

His body slammed into me, knocking the coolers I held from my hands. I would have landed on my ass, but his arms clamped around my body, holding me close to his.

Too surprised to wince at his iron grip, I stroked his hair. ?What?s wrong??

?Y-You?re really coming back? You promise??

My voice went soft. ?Davey, I?m not running away.?

He lifted his head, his blue eyes panicked and shining. ?Promise.?

I?d shattered his trust last week. I would have to work hard to get it back. ?I promise that I?ll never run away from you.?

His arms and chest were hard as stone as they tightened around me. ?You can?t keep that promise. Make me the one I told you to make.?

<i> What do you think is going to happen, Davey? </i> ?I promise I?ll tuck you in tonight.?

His face started to calm.

Brad honked his horn again.

Davey?s arms fell away from me, and I locked my knees to keep them from buckling. He picked up the coolers, handed them to me, and held up his finger. ?Keep your promise.?

?I will.? I kissed his forehead. ?Both of them.?

Before he could argue about that, I left the house, threw the coolers into the backseat of the car, and got in next to Brad.

?Took you long enough. This is <i> your </i> master plan, you know.?

?It?s <i> your </i> girlfriend,? I shot back, and we both burst into laughter.

Brad pulled out of our driveway. ?Seriously, what took you so long??

I stared out the window. ?Davey.?

?Wanting big brother?s attention, as usual??

There was nothing ?usual? about our lives these days. ?I?m thinking I should spend more time with him.?

?You?re always thinking that.?

I frowned, but didn?t say anything. Brad?s ass of a big brother had moved out two years ago, and he?d never been happier. He wouldn?t be able to understand the ache that twisted my stomach every time I thought about Davey slipping away. I couldn?t lose my brother.

I wouldn?t.

*****

When I walked through the door again, I heard Davey?s heavy steps pounding the second floor. I took a deep breath and braced myself for impact.

?Justin!? He bolted down the stairs, skid to a halt inches in front of me. He wasn?t wearing a shirt, so his sudden stop caused the muscles in his thick torso to flex and ripple. ?Ew.? He squeezed his nose with his fingers. ?You stink.?

I laughed, thankful for the reek of fish clinging to me. ?I know. But I made it in time, right??

He smiled, but didn?t let go of his nose. ?Go shower.?

?Why?? I sniffed my shirt, although my sense of smell had deserted me an hour ago. ?Don?t you like it??

?Yuck, you?re making me gag.?

I stretched out my arms and walked toward him. ?But Davey! I was really, really hoping you?d give me a hug!?

Giggling wildly, he jumped out of my reach. ?No! Then I?ll smell like you!?

I chased after him. ?Come on! Give me a scrunch!?

He ran, I ran. I made zombie sounds and he laughed.

Then, abruptly, he stopped and the smile vanished from his face.

I stopped, too. ?You okay??

His gaze grew distant a moment, and when he focused on me again his eyes were dark. ?I?m not supposed to run away from an attack.?

My arms fell to my sides as I straightened. ?I?m not attacking you. Don?t you know that??

His fists clenched. ?I stand my ground. Face down my enemy.?

?Davey...? My voice dropped to a careful whisper. ?It?s just a game.?

He tilted his head to the side. ?Did I win??

Winning had never been very important to him before. But then, neither had the prospect of enemy attack. ?It?s not that kind of game.?

Confusion flickered over his features, and my Davey began to creep back. ?How can a game have no winner??

I lifted my hand, hesitated, and reached out to touch his face. ?When it?s just for fun.?

Most of the darkness receded. But a trace remained, and I knew it was a part of him now.

?Go shower, Justin. I?ll wait for you in my room.?

The sober command jarred me. ?In your room??

A soft smile touched his lips. ?You promised to tuck me in, remember??

?Oh...? Scared, disoriented?I decided I could use a few minutes to think things through. ?Okay.?

I went up the stairs, trying not to feel his eyes on me. When I pulled the covers over Davey tonight...

Would he still be mine?

[Rowan]

Been absent for a while. First seven parts of this story can be found at:

[COLOR=#9136ad]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2397[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#247cd4]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2448[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#247cd4]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2628[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#247cd4]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3063[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#9136ad]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3577[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#9136ad]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3642[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#9136ad]http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4514[/COLOR]

Hope you like this installment.

-- Rowan

[ARCHEON]

Originally Posted by Rowan

Hope you like this installment.

Are you kidding? I LOVE this story! Nice to see you back on the Boards again.

[Lover_Boy]

[COLOR=red]...Welcome back Rowan. It's good to see you here once again.[/COLOR]

[muscl4life]

Is simply amazing, I loved to see this pranky side of Justin even if it as a response from a previous attack, it's nice to see he's not so uptight as we thought so far...

Can't wait to read a new installment or anything you have been cooking for us...

Bruno

[rextorres]

I can just imagine Davey defending his big brother Justin from the football jocks at school, or during a football game... That would be a fun scene!

[yobdior]

Very nice to read another chapter Rowan. Good to see some character development too, though I can't help think you are drawing us quickly into a whole world of changes to the lives of Justin and Davey. I especially like the little bit of darkness that's showing in Davey. Can't wait to see where it leads and what kind of master-plan Davey is involved in.

[Rowan]

Originally Posted by ARCHEON

Are you kidding? I LOVE this story! Nice to see you back on the Boards again.

I forgot how much fun it was to write this story. I even finished chapter 9 for it.

Originally Posted by Lover_Boy

[COLOR=#ff0000]...Welcome back Rowan. It's good to see you here once again.[/COLOR]

Thanks. It's good to be back.

Originally Posted by muscl4life

I loved to see this pranky side of Justin even if it as a response from a previous attack, it's nice to see he's not so uptight as we thought so far...

Just you wait...

Originally Posted by rextorres

I can just imagine Davey defending his big brother Justin from the football jocks at school, or during a football game... That would be a fun scene!

Yes it would.

Originally Posted by yobdior

Good to see some character development too, though I can't help think you are drawing us quickly into a whole world of changes to the lives of Justin and Davey.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that. Are you looking forward to that?


Thanks for the comments, guys. I had missed the forum, and the welcome back was nice.

-- Rowan

[onelocolobo]

Man, I hope you have the next chapter ready soon!! You just left me hanging. What's next? When do we get more? Don't hold out on us man! That being said, it was good to see this side of Justin. Keep up the great writing.